Combined letter opener and postage scale



Nov. 2, 1937. J. KAPLAN COMBINED LETTER OPENER AND POSTAGE SCALE Filed Jan. 15, 1956 INVEN TOR.

Patented Nov. 2, 1937 atta n? COIVEBINED- LETTER OPENER AND POSTAGE SCALE .iacob Kaplan, Washington, D. C.; Esther Kaplan, administratrix of said Jacob Kaplan, deceased, assignor to Esther Kaplan, Washington, D. C.

Application January 15, 1936, Serial No. 59.301

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined letter opener and postage scale.

The main object of the invention is to provide a letter opener combined with a weighing apparatus for weighing letters or small parcels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined letter opener and postage scale in which the scale is housed in the handle of the device.

Another object of the invention is to use the blade as one of the gripping elements to support the article being weighed.

A further object of the invention is to provide means to adjust the instrument to the zero point position of the scale.

A further object of the invention is to provide a resilient clamp associated with the blade and means to bend the clamp toward the blade for holding the article being weighed.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the disclosure progresses. The drawing is intended to merely indicate a possible embodiment of the invention. It is obvious that the actual needs of manufacture may necessitate certain mechanical changes. It is therefore not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated, but rather to define such limits in the appended claims. For a more general understanding of the invention attention is called to 3 the drawing in which like reference characters denote like parts throughout the specification.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view of the combination letter opener and postage scale with the scale partly protruding from the handle.

Figure 2 is a section on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the adjusting unit.

410 Figure 5 is an enlarged top view thereof.

Figure 6 is a view on line 65 of Figure 2. Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail of the blade showing the raised teeth for irictionally engaging the article being weighed and Figure 8 is a sectional view showing the blade arranged in an offset position so the center of the gripping line of the article being weighed will be in line with the central axis of the scale apparatus.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, numeral l designates the handle of the device, 2 the blade and 3 the gripping element. The handle is hollowed out and housed therein is a scale 4 and a tension spring 5. The upper end of the tension spring is attached to the scale while the lower end is attached to the upper shank portion 6 of the blade which protrudes from the handle. The gripping element comprises a clamp 'i fastened together with the shank 6 of the blade protruding from the. handle member by the pin 8. The clamp l is made of resilient material and normally slopes outwardly. Its lower end 9 has a sharp inward bend and formed in this bent portion are a set of teeth if Formed in the blade opposite the said teeth it] of the clamp is another set of teeth H. A ring i2 embraces both the clamp and the shank of the blade and is adapted when moved downwardly to close the clamp against the blade and thus hold the article being weighed.

At the top of the handle is an adjusting nut l3 threadedly engaging the handle which can be raised or lowered so that the top face thereof will correspond to the zero graduation I l of the scale. A revolvable collar 65 is set in the upper portion of the adjusting nut and is held in a locked position by the pins l6 whose ends fit in the groove ll of the collar. A slot i8 is cut in the collar for the scale to pass through. It will thus be seen that the nut can be revolved without twisting the scale. Attached to the top of the scale is a ring ill from which to suspend the device. The scale is graduated in ounces as shown in Figure 3.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figure 8 the blade is offset in relation to the spring as at 20 so that the central axis of the suspended letter as represented by the dot and dash line 2! corresponds to the central axis of the scale. The reason for this arrangement is that the entire instrument will be in a vertical position when the device is suspended from the ring when weighing a letter. In other words the central axis of the device will always be vertical. Otherwise there will be a tendency for the instrument from the ring down to swing slightly to the right when finding its true center and thereby impair the sensitivity of the weighing device.

In weighing a letter, the article is placed against the blade as shown in Figure 2 in the dot and dash line, numeral 22, and the ring l2 moved down. This will cause the letter to be clamped between the blade and the clamp. Next the entire device is suspended from the ring so that the handle and all of the elements attached thereto and including the letter can drop against the tension of the spring in proportion to its weight and expose the scale to view. When there is no suspended weight the handle can be adjusted so that its top face will be on line with the zero indicia l4. Any added weight will, of course, be

registered on the additional number of graduations exposed to view on the scale.

As noted in Figure 1 the upper portion of the blade is provided with pointed ends 23 leaving a space in'the center to allow the ring to move. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide a maximum amount of the length of the cutting edge of the blade yet not interfere with the'operation of the gripping element.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple, practicaland efllcient desk accessory for weighing and opening letters. All the weighing mechanism is confined within the handle and will in no way interfere with the device when jecting from one end of the body in substantial axial alignment with said body, a spring scale mounted within said body and adapted to support said body in weighing relation, a clamp, means to cause said clamp to bear against said member, said clamp and member being adapted to hold a letter with the letter supported against said knifelike member.

2. In a device of the class described, a hollow elongated body, a fiat knife-like member projecting from one end of thebody in substantial axial alignment with said body, a spring Scale mounted within said body and adapted to support said body in weighing relation, a clamp, means to cause said clamp to bear against said member, said clamp and member being adapted to hold a letter with the letter supported against said knifelike member, andmeans to lengthen said body to obtain a variable weighing relation.

3. In a device of the class described, a hollow elongated body, a flat knife-like member projecting fronione end of the body in substantial axial alignment with said body, a spring scale mounted within said body and adapted to support said body in weighing relation, a clamp, means to letter with the letter supported against said knifelike member and means to lengthen said body to obtain a varying weighing relation, said means comprising an adjusting nut screwed into the said-hollow elongated body adapted to change the length of said body member.

4'. In a device of the class described, a hollow elongated body, a flat knife-like member projecting from one end of the body in substantial axial alignment with said body, a spring scale mounted within said body and adapted to support said body in'weighlng relation, a clamp, means to cause said clamp to bear against said member, said clamp and member being adapted to hold a letter with the letter supported against said knifelike member, the point of contact between the knife-like member and clamp being in central alignment with said spring scale.

JACOB KAPLAN. 

